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Remembering the war veterans

By Michael Kho Lim, Contributor

11/28/2008

Many could have forgotten them, the Filipino heroes who fought against the Japanese in World War II, but not Benjamin Pimentel, author of Mga Gerilya sa Powell Street (Guerillas on Powell Street). During his stint as a reporter in San Francisco, he spent time conversing with war veterans hanging around Powell Street. This became the basis for his short story “Waiting on Powell Street.” Later on, he expanded this into a Filipino novel published by the Ateneo de Manila University Press in 2007. The novel has been adapted into a stage play by award-winning writer Rody Vera.

Mga Gerilya sa Powell Street explores the story of a group of Filipino guerrilla fighters who, after 50 years of waiting, have been granted American citizenship and have become denizens of Powell Street in San Francisco, California. As each day passes, these five friends patiently wait for the full equity benefits they have lobbied for years in the US Congress, and hope that one day they can go back to their motherland.

The play opens at an anonymous place — some kind of a limbo — where the friends wait for someone for the whole group to be completed. This unidentified place is not immediately understood at the beginning. One could even mistake the opening scene as a wake, but as the story progresses, the whole picture becomes clear.

As the five friends kill time, they think of reliving the past by sharing their stories to one another. They draw lots as to who will begin and Ciriaco “Tex” Santos (Lou Veloso) gets to tell his story first. Lou is very appropriate for the role. His character provides comic relief in the group as each one recalls the significant events in their lives. Behind Ciriaco’s laughter and funny retorts, however, lies a longing that can only be relieved by true love. One day, he bumps into a philandering woman who only wants to marry him for the American citizenship that he can provide her.

Lou breaks the monotony with his perfect sense of timing. At the same time, he shines in his solo dramatic moments especially when he is driven away by his wife from his own house. He is left walking the streets on a cold rainy night that eventually causes his life. His is perhaps the most memorable of all the characters, not to mention that his story is told the longest and makes up the first act.

Tommy Abuel also effectively portrays the role of Fidel, a devoted and doting father to his guitar-playing activist son Arnel (Paolo O’Hara) whose radical ideas have led him into trouble with the government. They are both very principled although they’re different in their belief systems. They try to understand each other and will fight to death what they believe in.

There are two other elderly characters in the play, namely, Major Amor (Joe Gruta) and Badong (Ces Aldaba) who perform their roles excellently. Their stories are not tackled as much as the other characters. The part where Major Amor is honored in a special ceremony is really moving and inspiring though.

Another interesting character in Mga Gerilya sa Powell Street is the very virile and promiscuous Ruben (Dido de la Paz), who is always on the lookout for a women. The audience loves him for his naughty and suggestive punch lines. The scene in which Ruben makes out with the Russian sex worker Svetlana (Mailes Kanapi) is hilarious and is something to watch out for.

Mailes Kanapi delivers an outstanding performance and demonstrates her versatility as an actor. From being a teasing harlot to a scheming relative, she gives justice to all her characters.

Missy Maramara’s portrayal of attorney Dizon is also very amusing. This very helpful and supportive lawyer volunteer is most remembered for trying hard to speak in Filipino with her strong American twang. People will not forget the word cha-go, which pertains to the Filipino word tiyaga or patience in English.

The stage adaptation relies on flashback to flesh out the lives of each character. But after the first act ends with the story of Ciriaco, one begins to feel the time passing especially when one realizes that there are four other stories waiting to be told. Unfortunately, there are two other characters whose stories are only touched lightly. One also expects to know or hear the stories of Major Amor and Badong in a deeper sense since they drew lots at the beginning of the play to identify the sequence of the story sharer. This is a common problem in dealing with a multi-character story.

What is also very noticeable about the play is its set design that follows a minimalist style. Upon entering the black box theater, one would only see a plain wall backdrop with a public payphone and a bench — something that resembles a cable car station. This is where all the characters converge and exchange their stories of patriotism and memories of their loved ones in the Philippines as they battle against loneliness, homesickness and the cold weather. One immediately feels the desolation of the location as cable cars run past them and their rhythm serves as the background for their nostalgic recollections.

The set is also creatively used as the living room, the bar, the streets and other locations of the play. It only uses a skeleton set with very minimal props, and executes changes through sound effects and well-orchestrated movement of the actors, while the rest of the work is left for the audience’s vivid imagination. One won’t see the door but see the actor’s action of opening the door and hear its corresponding creaking sound. The same goes for the imaginary coffin, the vehicle, etc. This minimalist set design is somewhat similar to the style of the film Dogville (Von Trier, 2003), in which the story is shot on a soundstage where houses have imaginary doors and are divided with invisible walls. The film relies heavily on the actors’ movements and sound effects.

Mga Gerilya sa Powell Street is a story of waiting — waiting for their last few days on earth but hoping to be brought home whole in a coffin instead of being cremated in an urn, and waiting for their full equity benefits long due them. While their war combat has already ended, their battle in life is not. The audience waits with the veterans as one gets to know each of them.

The story of each character ends with his passing away. It is represented by the ringing of the public payphone as if it’s a line to heaven. A bright spotlight is directed towards the character as he slowly looks up and the moment freezes. Most of the characters are not able to fulfill their dreams of being brought home in a coffin. As the other living characters pay respect to their friends by scattering their ashes, the wind participates and creates a very funny situation.

Mga Gerilya sa Powell Street is a good reminder for the youth that amid the veterans’ courage in fighting in the war, they’re still human — they experience the same aches and pains of growing old, and share the same hopes and dreams of being together with their family. The play pays tribute to these unsung heroes as they sing to their own tunes of laughter and despair. While the performance makes use of humor to tackle the issues of the war veterans, the underlying seriousness of their plight is still at the forefront of discussion. The play ends aptly with the whole cast singing the lines “I keep coming back to Manila,” and freezes into a tableau.

Bembol Roco alternates with Tommy Abuel as Fidel, while Bodjie Pascua alternates with Lou Veloso for the role of Ciriaco.

Mga Gerilya sa Powell Street runs until Nov. 30 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Huseng Batute with 8 p.m. shows on Fridays and Saturdays, and 3 p.m. shows on Saturdays and Sundays. For ticket inquiries, call Tanghalang Pilipino at 832-3661 or 832-3667.